"All the paths of the LORD are loving-kindness and
truth." Psalm 25:10

In a very real way, I just experienced how God knows
exactly what it is that we are in need of before it even becomes a recognizable
thought in our minds. It is truth that the One who created us truly knows us
far better than we even know ourselves. He is willing to help us in each and
every time of need; when we are too dense to realize what our deepest need it,
He often intervenes and gives it to us before we even ask.

This was my experience for Thursday and Friday. On Thursday
we left for "la Cumbre", a Christian Bible camp out in the mountains,
for a retreat. We left after breakfast and drove a good 2.5 hours to get there.
It was a fun drive of laughing, talking and getting to know people better. When
we got there, the freshness of the crisp mountain air overwhelmed me. I felt SO
alive, so refreshed almost immediately. It's been tiring being here. It's been
great, but our schedule is pretty intense and I find myself growing weary; not just tired, weary. I suppose God knew how to combat this before I completely
drained myself.

"As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord God
surrounds His people both now and forevermore." Psalm 125:2

After lunch, we played some big group wide games outside in
a covered gymnasium. It was so much fun; lots of team-building stuff, running
around and having a really good time. Diego had mentioned in a devotional a
while back how we ought to "find rest with each other" and at first I
laughed at that. It is NOT restful for me to be around people all the
time...how in the world could I find rest with others? But, playing those
games, laughing with everyone and making memories was a different kind of rest.
I saw how there can be rest within community in a way I didn't expect.

After those games, we were split up into two different
groups to go rappelling and rock climbing. After rappelling down waterfalls in
the rainforest, the indoor "rock" that we rappelled down was kind of
anti-climatic...but everyone had fun still. After a while, I stole away to a
secluded rock to just "be". And oh was it wonderful! I find that some
of my best "thinking" is done when I am alone, sitting on a rock
beside a river in the mountains. It is truly one of my favorite places to be.
As I sat, I observed the river. It was so powerful, so loud, so strong. There
were massive rocks that the water would either rush over or pound around. The
water was never still; it was a relentless and powerful force that was never
satisfied. There were so many different aspects that I noticed about it. For a
while, I just closed my eyes and listened. How healing those waters sounded.
Then later, I just watched. Water fascinates me; it's shapeless void that has
so much force behind it. How can something so formless have such power? After,
I felt it. so fresh; so cold; so refreshing. It is good for swimming in (if
hypothermia isn't a concern for you) and it is good to make dirty things clean.
It is necessary for life; we are something like 80% water; without it we would
not exist. It is what draws all forms of life; animals instinctively know where
to find it. I was just overwhelmed with thoughts of this incredible creation.
And it gets better.

I observed how Jesus refers to Himself as the Living Water.
All through the book of John, this is the case. When we accept and receive
Christ, we receive those "streams of living water" flowing through
us. And it is not just a one-way accepting thing either; we are not filled with
that life-giving water to just hold onto it. No, if that were the case, our
water would grow stagnant as a pond that is never refreshed. Rather, the words
of Christ tell us that they are streams of living water. A stream is constantly moving. And as I
watched that river, I noticed that there were deeper areas that almost acted
like pools, and there the water was a bit more still; yet it was
constantly being filled and emptied. Same as us. There is a song that we sing,
and one of the lines is this: "I have been filled to be emptied
again"...isn't that just what it is about? Because I know that I have that
life-giving water flowing in and through me, I will continue to be repeatedly
filled and emptied over and over again. It won't always be 'easy' but I know it
will never be dull!

And there was not just water in that river; there were
ROCKS. BIG ONES! I was, in fact, even sitting on one of them! That water was
flowing over and around and under solid, grounded ROCKS. God is my ROCK, a
present help in times of trouble, just like David noted in the Psalms. And I,
with that water flowing in and through me, will flow for Him, by Him, around
Him, but always according to the path that is determined by Him.

"From
the end of the earth I call to You when my heart it faint; lead me to the ROCK
that is higher than I, for You have been arefugefor
me...let medwellin Your tent forever, let me takerefugein
theshelterof Your wings." Psalm 61:2-4